Sakura, The Golden Queen
by Black Rose530
Summary: I had always known I would be married off. Like a prize to some 'honored' noble in exchange for money, power, and military alliances. Given to my nation's enemy's like a hostage to ensure alliances. I had never let myself dream of knights and princes and true love knowing this would come and that it would kill me one if I let myself love.
1. Chapter 1:Kidnapped

*Disclaimer* I never have nor unfortunately will I ever own Naruto.

Enjoy

…

Chapter 1

Kidnapped

I had always known I would be married off. Like a prize to some 'honored' noble in exchange for money, power, and military alliances. Given to my nation's enemy's like a hostage to ensure alliances. I had never let myself dream of knights and princes and true love knowing this would come and that it would kill me one if I let myself love. Even dreams of love would never belong to me, so I never allowed myself to think of such things. _Somehow I still convinced myself this day would never come, that my mother would come to her senses but here I am in this god forsaken rickety carriage, in an itchy travel gown being sold off like land. I swear I could kill someone, I should kill someone probably my mother, for doing this to me in the first place or maybe Gaara._

Rationally speaking, I knew why my mother Queen Tsunade was sending me to Gaara now. Lord Danzo wanted to be king, and my mother and I would be the only ones who could make that happen. He had killed my father Jiraiya but my mother would never marry him. If she continued to refuse for much longer Danzo would kill her. After that he would be after her.

So my dear mother was sending me off to marry a king of a country Danzo couldn't destroy. My mother, of course, wouldn't waste this opportunity to do something for her country and to damage our greatest enemy's economy.

I shook my head thinking of my dear mother's plot. Suna was a land in the desert that relied upon trade as an essential part of their economy, they received bare materials from the countries of Konoha and Uchiha and they would then exchange manufactured goods. This was a rather difficult arrangement, considering Konoha and Uchiha have continuously been at war with one another. Uchiha determined to take farming land from Konoha and trying to find Suna's manufacturing secrets, the land of Uchiha, a mountainous country with very little flat land, was determined to become self-sufficient.

My marriage to Gaara would be successful in excluding Uchiha from Suna's trade agreements. Suna couldn't afford to alienate any of its trade partners. Being a land of vast deserts Suna had no resources of its own to take a vital part of their economy from them would lead to a huge loss of jobs, the people of which I was apparently meant to be queen would starve and i was to be the cause of it, a queen of death. This effectively weakened both Suna and Uchiha eliminating a vital resource for both countries. I would solidify this agreement, this condemnation of the economies of other countries.

So here I was in this shaking, jumping carriage, that was seriously starting to hurt my butt, running from my own country, pondering how hopeless and miserable my life is was and would be. And how there was nothing I could ever do about it. Suddenly I felt the carriage jolt around me, before coming to a halt. I couldn't see past the thick curtains covering the window, but I heard the crashing of metal on metal coming from all around me. I didn't have half as many guards as I would have under normal circumstances. Due to my mother's fear, however of being caught I only had three men protecting me. _Will they be enough?_ I thought. I felt someone falling into the carriage I heard myself squeal.

Moments later the clashing stopped. All noise did. I took this opportunity to open my door and run. Unfortunately, I only ran straight into a tall blue-skinned man who was most certainly not my guard. I screamed but moments later my vision went black.

…

When I woke, all I could see was blurs of red and black. My vision cleared and I realized the red was a cloud in the sky of black, the symbol of the Akatsuki. A terrorist group, or so I'd been told by Danzo. The symbol I had been staring at was a cloak hanging on a wardrobe. There was little more adornment in the room: a small desk, the bed I was lying on, and two doors, one open leading to a bathroom and the other closed. On closer inspection it wasn't locked. In fact there was a note on the door asking me to leave my room and hear them out. Maybe I was wrong? It wasn't unlike Danzo to lie about what was going on in my country.

…

 _My dear maid Ten-ten had given me her uniform and a brown wig to cover my pink hair, the guards were none the wiser. Though Ten-ten warned me that I wouldn't like what I found, I had been determined to go._

 _I walked through the town market horrified. At every turn there was one of Danzo's soldiers needlessly assaulting innocent citizens, women and children. I even witnessed the murder of an elderly man who had tripped and the guards had beaten him to death. All this done in the name of the so called "crown."_

 _I myself was attacked by one of these brutish officials when I defended a woman who was very plainly pregnant. I had thrown my shoe at him and called, "You ignorant swine! Are you blind? Can you not see that this woman is in a fragile state? You should be defending citizens from harm and yet you brutalize innocent people in the streets!" That earned me a slap from the officer. Another came to help him and he pushed me to the ground while his buddy kicked me in the stomach. I kicked and screamed and somehow hit one of my attackers in the groin. It had given me just enough time to run away._

 _Thankfully I lost them but found myself in an even worse area of the city. Surrounding me were the poorest of poor, covered in filth and dirt, starving to death. Each peasant begged for food as I passed so I gave all I could, my broach, my earrings, my necklace, so they could buy food, and when I had nothing more to give, I turned to find someone handing out food, and then I saw the red cloud of the Akatsuki adorning her cloak._

 _Shocked, I turned to the man next to me to inquire as to who she was. The man had white hair and stood tall, a black mask covered his face and nose, and he told me, "That would be the Lady Angel. She comes and gives food and supplies to those who need it most."_

" _But she bears the Akatsuki symbol."_

" _Yes, Danzo has been trying to keep the Akatsuki out for a long time, trying to keep people afraid but the truth is that he doesn't know what he's dealing with. The Akatsuki have been building supporters, people who will revolt against Danzo."_

" _Why are things like this? Her majesty the queen dedicates a large amount of funding to relief for the poor."_

" _Her majesty is hardly heeded. Danzo has all the power now, princess."_

" _How do you know so much? How do you know who I am?"_

" _I once was captain of Lord Danzo's personal guard. I know all about his policies. When I couldn't stand it anymore he fired and blacklisted me. I've known you since you were young."_

…

I wondered if that man was still alive. It was entirely possible that he wasn't, considering those conditions.

I sighed, thinking of the "Lady Angel" who wore the Akatsuki cloak while feeding the hungry of Konoha's Capital city. I walked out of the room deciding to hear what they had to say, still unsure that the Akatsuki could be trusted.

…

The hall I walked down was bare, my arms covered in goose flesh, whether from the cold or fear I couldn't tell, the only light came from a room at the end, which I soon reached only to be faced with a strange, squealing man in an orange mask and behind him a blonde-haired man.

The blonde one stepped toward me, his face all too close to mine. The man spoke, "So this is the pretty little princess un?"

I stood a little taller at my title but frowned thinking again of the day I snuck out of the palace into town. "Unfortunately." I responded

"Unfortunately?" a deep voice said behind me. I turned. "You have spent your life in the lap of luxury, while your people starve and fall dead in the streets. What exactly is so unfortunate about your life, princess?" The last word was said with all the venom of a curse and I winced.

I replied furiously, "What is unfortunate, sir, is that I smile and wave on to that crowd of dying people, fully aware of the pain they suffer, having to sit across from the monster who committed such atrocities and sympathize with his every opinion, to sit and smile and give that creep all my attention despite my hatred toward him, having no power to help anyone change anything. What is unfortunate, Sir, is that I sit on a seat of lies!"

Only after I stopped talking did I get a good look at the man who had insulted me. It was Itachi Uchiha, exiled crown prince of the land of Uchiha, Konoha's greatest military threat. He was so plainly a prince, even without his cape and gems you could tell he was born to be a king. The way he held himself told you all you needed to know.

He stood at least a head taller than me and had eyes that looked of freshly drawn blood. Those and his raven black hair were well offset by his pale white complexion that rivaled even my own. I glared at the Prince, "But you of all people must know that pain, Uchiha. Everyone knows your father rules his country with an iron fist, executing any possible dissenters. Isn't the reason Uchiha is always trying to invade our country is because you don't have the flat land for farming? Starvation must run rampant in your country of mountains and rocks."

The prince's face I could tell he was seething but he smiled, it was almost creepy. He took my arm gently and led me back down the hall.

We walked into a study, the room was dark and the man sitting in the desk seemed menacing especially with pegs of metal sticking out from his nose and ears.

Behind him stood a beautiful, kind-looking woman with blue hair and pale skin, and I realized that it was the young woman from that day in the town, that "Lady Angel" as the townspeople had called her, but the menacing man put me on edge. At last he spoke, "Young princess, welcome to the Akatsuki."


	2. Chapter 2:Sakura's Decision

Chapter 2:

Sakura's Decision

The City Had Been Razed.

The area around me was all cinder and ashes and rubble. Charred bodies battered and maimed, children covered in bruises arms, feet heads chopped off raggedly. The scent of blood and ash overwhelmed me, the heat of Konoha's summer engulfed me, and made the sent even stronger as though the sheer quantity of it were not enough. Flies swarmed around, hitting me in the face, the beastly things no doubt drawn by blood. I swallowed back bile coming up my throat.

The dryness of the heat did nothing to keep the fires from spreading. The crops from farms surrounding were in a blaze. I had never seen anything so gruesome, so hideous. I tripped over something, falling forward. I screamed as I saw that I had fallen on top of a small body charred and rotting with the head cut off and sliced throat, the blood wasn't dry but sticky. I pushed myself up and frantically wiped at my clothes as if I could wipe away that I had fallen on him, that he had been dead. The vomit forced its way from my stomach, I just couldn't hold it back anymore, I put my hands on my knees gasping for breath as the last of what little bit was in my stomach abandoned me as I retched.

I saw the symbol of Danzo's reign on a banner clutched in the dead child's hand, the leaf of Konoha flaming surrounded by black rather than the green of my family's banner. It had been Konoha's center of art, of culture and education, Konohagakure. The people had been destroyed to make an example of anyone who would speak out against Lord Danzo. Pain had taken me here to see the truth, the extent Danzo's evil.

My people were dead.

Danzo had killed thousands in this city alone. I gave up, sat down in a pile of ash as I cried and cried and cried. The kind "Lady Angel" whom I now know as Konan, Pain's wife, took me up into her arms and held me as I cried, whispering reassurances to me as my breath wouldn't fill my lungs. My vision left me.

…

After my little field trip, another devastation struck, the blonde man, Deidara, gave me the news that my mother had been killed, poisoned cantarella, not a pretty death, it forces the body to vomit and defecate before finally killing you.

I knew her death was bound to happen as soon as Danzo had realized what my mother had done and that there was no chance that Danzo could marry her. It was no less of a shock. But what a heinous way to die I hadn't thought he had spited her such. I locked myself in my room. I refused anyone's presence and denied myself of food. After a week of this I heard a knock on my door. I called at whoever it was to go away, but he entered anyway. It was the Uchiha prince, Itachi, I threw a pillow in a half attempt to keep him out but he just shoved it out of his way. He looked at me eyes heavy. "My mother is dead, too. My father beat her to death." He walked over to me and sat on to my bed.

"My brother and I had been hiding under our mother's bed with the intent on startling her, but my father came in during one of his rages. This was worse than the others. I tried to make my brother close his eyes but he wouldn't listen.

"I had been eleven, my brother was eight. I could never look at my father again without imagining killing him. On my eighteenth birthday I found that my father was far more evil than I had already known.

"I had found a staircase under my father's desk. It led down to the most disgusting thing I had seen in my life. I found the laboratory of my uncle Orochimaru. My uncle had been conducting experiments on human beings. Innocent people were mutated, some had animal parts sticking out of their bodies, others had been sown together bleeding, and they were all plainly malnourished, and mutilated. The worst part was the smell, the smell of blood, feces and antiseptic.

"That night I ran. I joined the Akatsuki about a year later determined to seek out revenge and I discovered that in retaliation for my escape my father had killed my best friend Shisui. You aren't alone Sakura, It's true I know what it feels to sit and smile and pretend everything is fine when you know the evil that sits before you."

"How did I move past this? How did you survive?"

"I knew I was determined to kill them all and return to my kingdom and set my country right. To keep my country from ever suffering such tyranny again. That is why you must get up and take back your kingdom." He held my hand and gave it a squeeze, before he reached the door and I called out, "Itachi?"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"I will join the Akatsuki, take back my country."

He smiled at me, "Then you'd best come eat so we can get to work."

For the first time in a week I ate properly. I wouldn't lock myself in my room anymore, but instead I would spend my time at a desk in the Akatsuki library. The only people I would allow into the room were Konan whom was becoming a dear friend and Itachi, who helped me figure out how I was going to pull this off.

I knew that first we needed an army. I knew just gathering rebels alone wouldn't be enough; we would need artillery and supplies, as well as the fact the numbers would be no match for Konoha's or Uchiha's standing armies always prepared for war. There was another country with a standing army. In fact it was twice the size of Konoha's army due to all of the trading ventures that had to be defended and they had enough wealth to fund the entire war, the country of Suna.

I began to reach for a piece of paper at the same moment Itachi had. I felt my hand brush against his warm one and our eyes locked for a moment too long, it made me blush. I then proceeded to explain my intent before drafting up my treaty that I would present to King Garra. I often worked late into the night, passing out in my exhaustion, sometimes finding myself being carried like a new bride by Itachi, who walked me into my bedroom and put me in my bed.

In a week I had completed my treaty. At last I knew how I would defend my people and in the relief of the moment, I threw up my papers and found myself in Itachi's arms, kissing him. After I had realized what I had done, I backed away blushing. Itachi only smiled saying, "Why, you've turned pinker than your hair Sakura." I tried to pretend that hadn't happened and proceeded to tell Itachi my plan.

"We will need my brother. Konoha would never accept me as their ruler, and the people would only rally around my brother. Both you and my brother would have to gather rebels from your countries. I will go as a diplomat to Suna to present this treaty to King Gaara, and we will stage a military coup." Itachi nodded at my plan, seeing nothing wrong with that plan thus far. He grinned at me, those beautiful red eyes gleaming at me again.

"I think you will make a brilliant diplomat, Sakura"

"And you'd better be a pretty great general, Itachi, or we shall be reliant completely upon Gaara."

"Oh, I assure you I know how to lead an army," he winked at me,

I laughed, "I'll believe it when I see it, hero." Shoving him just a little bit, I turned away and slipped on one of the papers nearly hitting the floor. Itachi had caught me just in time. Our faces were close together, it wouldn't take much for him to kiss me again, but at that moment Konan opened the library door.

"Dinners almost rea-I see you're busy." She then turned around and closed the door, behind which I could hear her laughing. Itachi set me on my feet and I was almost sure he had been about to kiss me again, but it was my imagination.

"You should go to bed after dinner. Those bags under your eyes are getting darker from all these nights of working with me," I said rather awkwardly.

"Yea, I will. Thanks." Did he really sound as nervous as I was? No, it couldn't be. Prince Itachi nervous? As if.

I walked out of the room and headed down the hall to dinner. In the dining room I could hear them all laughing about a "royal couple." I blushed. "Traitor," I said under my breath and turned back around deciding, embarrassed, that I wasn't hungry.

Tomorrow, I decided, the best course of action would be to get Hinata, the one girl my brother Naruto had ever taken a real interest in and the only person who could possibly convince him to do anything. The only question was how?


	3. Chapter 3:Mission Naruto

Chapter 3:

Mission Naruto

Hinata Hyuga has been my best friend since I was little. Hinata was a shy, quiet girl. Naruto had been smitten with her for as long as he'd known her. I knew that Naruto and Hinata wanted to get married but Danzo would never permit it, determined to use Naruto's marriage to his advantage, however that may be. She was a black-haired girl with light lilac, almost white eyes which went well with her pale-as-the-moon skin. She had recently let her hair grow out which framed her face very nicely and made her look regal. Hinata was practically born to be queen.

…

Deidara, who has become more of a friend to me from the past week, especially after finding that we had a similarly dark sense of humor, helped me sneak into Hinata's manor, a traditional estate with high walls, bright tile roofs and hallways open to the many gardens. Guards were everywhere in the Hyuga household and Hinata was hardly ever truly alone. So Deidara and I had to dress ourselves as servants. I wore a wig and a gray kimono with a purple obi, and I carried a tea tray to Hinata.

I tapped on her shoulder as she sat in her rock garden. She looked like the princess she should be, dressed in a kimono of midnight blue embroidered with lilies and an underdress of royal purple and an obi of lilac. At first she was startled but seeing that it was me she looked around and hurried me into a bare room with only tatami mats and screens painted with mountains and mythical creatures such as the nine-tailed fox and dragons.

"Where have you been? Lord Danzo has been searching everywhere for you and I wasn't sure if I should be worried about you or grateful that you escaped. What are you doing here?" She whispered, afraid of drawing her guard's attention. I explained to her what had happened to me and what I had decided. Hinata had known about all of the things that Danzo had done. She was one of the few people that I truly told everything I could tell absolutely everything to. But she was no child, she was a lady of the Hyuga clan. She wouldn't assist in a revolution without ensuring that her family would get something out of it.

"In exchange for your assistance I will ensure your marriage to Naruto," I told her.

Hinata blushed but straightened herself. "I'll need more than my own selfish desire to marry your brother. I'll have to insist that my brother Neji become head of Naruto's royal guard and as well as control of the armies during the war."

I knew Hinata would have to insist on special treatment for her family but nothing she asked for was too extreme. Neji was trusted by my mother and I knew him to be responsible. It was a choice my brother would have made regardless. I told her so and assured her that I would adhere to each of her demands. Hinata agreed to convince Naruto of what we both knew was the truth, and she agreed to sneak out with me.

…

Hinata accompanied Deidara, Pain, Konan, and I as we snuck into the royal palace, into Naruto's section of the palace. I didn't see any of the fighting but the three Akatsuki members knocked out at least thirteen guards on our way in. When we got to Naruto's bedroom I knocked on the door and as soon as the door was opening, I pushed Hinata forward. As soon as she saw Naruto she was going to faint anyway. Might as well have her land in Naruto's arms. Naruto looked shocked but caught her, he always did. The moment he saw her, my brother knew to make sure she didn't hit the ground.

I knew what was going on. I'd seen them together a thousand times. Naruto would carry her to his couch and she would come to in a moment, and Hinata would explain to Naruto what was really going on and what Danzo had intended to do to his country, then to his sister. Naruto would have trouble understanding, as he always did accepting that he had been wrong about something but never doubting that Hinata would only tell him the truth. My brother Naruto was a tall blonde man with bright blue eyes and was always too energetic for his own good. As soon as they got out of the room Naruto was ready to do whatever it took to help. Good old reliable big brother.

We escaped the way we came, Naruto insisting on bringing his favorite horse. "Hey, Sakura!" he called, riding his horse up and down the stairs, "look, this is how everyone should go upstairs. I think I shall call this system the escalator!" I shook my head and tried to remind him that we were trying to escape and we couldn't do that if he kept yelling.

…

Naruto completely welcomed revolution, like all things he did. Naruto was a strong leader and once he believed something, he put everything into it. He had been sneaking back and forth between Konoha's border towns making inspirational speeches against Danzo and his tyranny. The people responded to him, they saw him as a hero, and it helped that he travelled with Konan and her starvation relief. This gave the impression that he and his reign would bring about more relief. The mysterious man who assisted me that first day in town had quickly became my brother's general. Now I know that his name was Kakashi Hatake. He was a brilliant warrior and a kind mentor for my brother who was in need of guidance in matters of war, having never led an army without my father or my mother making every real decision for him.

Itachi took Naruto's lead and started gathering an army of his own, but even their numbers wouldn't be enough to defeat either the Uchiha nor Konoha army, let alone both, no matter how expertly trained by Kakashi, whom Naruto and I had teasingly started calling "sensei" the word for teacher. He even taught Naruto hand-to-hand combat and when I started preparing for my journey, he gave me a pink blade to use if push came to shove and even taught me how to use it in a fight.

…

Itachi was on his way to the western-most portion of Uchiha, so he escorted me to Suna. I was returning to where this war all began, this time not as a glorified hostage, but instead a leader. With his entire army following behind us, I felt like a real princess with real power for the first time in my life. I was Princess Sakura on a diplomatic mission, saving my country from an evil dictator. Just like the characters in the fiction novels I had once read in my endless amounts of free time, wishing I was like those heroes. Here I was, finally doing something with my life.

Not to mention the fact that Itachi and I had been spending more and more time together. Itachi was a real prince. He had completely changed from the first time we met when he was so irritating. Itachi could be infuriating when he wants to be, but he could also be charming. Itachi and I liked a lot of the same books and poetry. We would debate with me on meanings of different lines. While we were eating lunch together, Itachi watched the cherry blossoms fall and began to recite:

"The guests are gone from the pavilion high,

In the small garden flowers are whirling around.

Along the winding path the petals lie;

To greet the setting sun, they drift up from the ground.

Heartbroken, I cannot bear to sweep them away;

From my eyes, spring soon disappears.

I pine with passing, heart's desire lost for aye;

Nothing is left but a robe stained with tears."

I listened carefully smiling up at him, "Falling Flowers, by Li Shang-Yin."

"You know it?" he looked surprised.

I laughed, "Of course I know it, it's my favorite poem. It reminds me of all the nights as a child when a ball would end and I would sit there on the palace steps and recite that poem to myself." Itachi said nothing after that. He just reached out and embraced me. I once again realized that he was the most beautiful person I could possibly meet, especially with the sun leaking between the branches of the tree we were under. Itachi's hair gleamed and his eyes sparkled, for once not filled with sorrow and pain but rather with joy and peace.


	4. Chapter 4:Diplomacy

Chapter 4:

Diplomacy

The eventually, we reached the land of Suna, nothing but desert. My gowns were far too thick and heavy for this heat, so we stopped at the first town we met but it was small and I wound up stuck in a light gauzy brownish dress. At least I wouldn't die of heat stroke. It only took us three days to reach the capital city, Sunagakure, hidden by walls of rock and all the buildings seemed to be carved of sand stone. The city was bustling; townspeople stepped aside as my guard passed through the center city. As we approached the government building, a rounded bulb with kanji written in red, sand was blowing everywhere and I covered my mouth with my handkerchief.

King Garra greeted us at the door with his court bowing, "Princess Sakura, Prince Itachi, welcome." He brought us inside, and offered to bring me to my room, but I insisted we get to work. So he had my things sent up to my room and brought me to his council. A large room, sandy brown like everything else in this city, had been almost completely taken over by the table and chairs. Aside from the real center of the room huge statues of the country's former rulers stood from floor to ceiling glaring down disapprovingly and looking ever-so-important. They made me feel small.

I sat down next to the King Gaara. Eighteen only a year older than I was and yet a head taller. He had deep red hair and light blue eyes almost overwhelmed by black eyeliner which almost made him look like a raccoon. What was even more interesting than his eyes, however, was the red tattoo plainly displayed on his forehead, the kanji for love. When he was a child it had been rumored that he was a cruel boy with no regard for others, but after his father's death Gaara took the crown with grace and has only worked to help others. He had even become my older brother's best friend. They had initially met when they were twelve as rivals in jousting tournaments for years until they finally got talking once when they were sixteen. They have been best friends ever since.

Gaara's mother had died when he was born. His father had always blamed him. Gaara even blamed himself. Naruto had started to change his mind with the help of Gaara's uncle, who finally admitted what Gaara's father had forbidden to ever be said. He told Gaara that his mother loved him, really truly loved him.

That was the man that sat next to her: the boy neglected all his life, but finally freed, finally loved. Gaara was by no means cruel. In fact his smile was warm, plainly glad that the only person he had to put up with for the next week of negotiations was his own best friend's younger, more rational sister, rather than groups of bureaucrats or the impatient, rather ridiculous older brother.

"I hope there are no hard feelings about my decision not to marry you, Gaara."

Gaara started laughing, "Sakura, I know it wasn't your decision to be betrothed to me in the first place, and while I didn't oppose too badly because your brother is my friend, there is no ill will between us. Anyhow, you saved me from that treaty. I should thank you for not marrying me."

I started laughing, too. Itachi entered the room, almost slamming the doors looking slightly irritated. "Princess," I cringed, that was no compliment, "you should be safe now, so I shall take my leave of you." he bowed formally and walked away before I could say anything. He was not happy and I would not see him again for at least two weeks while he gathered followers and I completed this treaty.

…

The proceedings of our treaty went well. Neither of us got everything we wanted but as they say, in a good negotiation no one leaves completely satisfied. It had been my hope that Gaara would devote the entirety of his army to the war but I soon realized that was a silly hope. But Gaara was patient with me. After all he really did want to help. He agreed to send three-fourths of his army to assist Naruto and Itachi, reminding me that he had to keep some of his army to defend his own country. He also agreed to supply the entirety of our army for half the price he would have had it been anyone else with an agreement that none of it had to be paid until Naruto and Itachi were back on the throne. I agreed to those terms while also offering tariff-free trade between the three countries, something Gaara couldn't possibly turn down.

The deal would be sealed with a marriage, Gaara and I had no intention to marry one another, but it was widely known that his older sister Temari and my cousin Shikamaru had fallen in love on the number of diplomatic missions back and forth between Suna and Konoha, it was the perfect symbol of our fully corporative alliance, and it would bring about a peace between all three countries. After a week of negotiations we finally walked out of the conference room laughing. "I may have no intention to marry you, but if you ever need a job or a place to hide out, you can stay here and become my council member."

"I'll keep that in mind, Gaara, but if all goes well, I won't need to come back here until your next birthday party," I joked.

Gaara sent me on my way as soon as negotiations ended, with a guard of ten soldiers promising that he would gather his armies and meet Itachi and Naruto on the battle field at the place where all three countries meet. It took me five days to reach to Itachi's camp. On the Eastern border between Konoha and Uchiha. I had to tell him that needed to happen if he had any hope of winning this war. I met with Itachi and had him go on a walk with me.

…

"Itachi you can't defeat your father with the numbers you have now," I told him. "Even with Gaara's army, you can't match them."

"Gee, Sakura, thanks for the vote of confidence," Itachi responded joking. That's good. It meant he wasn't still mad at me, however he was about to be furious.

"Itachi, you need Danzo's army to face your father, take back your throne. Naruto needs Danzo's armies occupied so that he can continued to grow his numbers, then stage a surprise coup while the country is weakened."

He laughed, "You say that like it's actually an option. Danzo would never work with us."

"He would if you handed me over to him." Here it comes.

"What on Earth are you talking about Sakura?" called out.

I looked at him still calm, "We will draw up a treaty with him, offer free trade between the countries, and end to all war between the countries of Uchiha and Konoha as well as my hand in marriage in exchange for the use of his entire military."

He started yelling again. I grabbed his arm and reached up to his face making him look at me.

"The wedding will take place the day after you win the war. The day you win, Naruto will attack and save me before the wedding even begins preventing me from having to marry Danzo." Itachi calmed down considerably knowing it was the best possible course of action and knowing I wouldn't be disobeyed, and would be furious with him if he even considered telling him what I could and couldn't risk.

Instead of arguing, he kissed me…

…

At the negotiations, I had been dressed in the finest gown I owned, and I had insisted, that as not to allow myself to sound too intelligent and thus less attractive to the brute Danzo, that Itachi do all of the talking during the negotiations. We met Danzo at a tent we set up on neutral ground. I did as I had planned, kept my mouth shut and smiled, and Itachi didn't need to do much as far as the negotiations were concerned. Danzo didn't refuse any of our offers or make any more demands. He really was desperate to make himself king, with me as his queen. I gritted my teeth. The day after the war's end, I was to be his bride.


	5. Chapter 5:Marriage and War

Chapter 5:

Marriage and War

Danzo was an ugly old man. He had greasy black hair and a disgusting scar on his chin. He only had one eye; the other side of his face completely covered by bandages. On the same side of the lost eye he was missing an arm, all wounds from wars against the Uchiha. Just as his body was hardened and destroyed by war, as was his mind. He had no kindness left in him. He was a cruel, arrogant, ambitious man and he was an awful dinner guest.

He just kept going on and on and on about how great he was and how many "amazing things" he was going to do for Konoha, but I knew he was full of it, and that everything he said was just going to hurt the people of Konoha. I knew that. I could tell that he had just won a battle. Danzo always forced me to eat with him when he won a battle. I never ate a bite from his table afraid of being drugged and convinced to marry him far sooner than planned, another thing Danzo never shut up about.

Most of the time, I shut myself in my chambers only allowing my maids, Ten-ten and Ino, who thank goodness had gone unharmed, and my mother's former secretary Shizune. Ten-ten always kept her brown hair in two even buns on the top of her head, Ino was a blonde girl with very long hair and blue eyes, and Shizune was an older woman only a little younger than my mother had been, she always wore a black kimono and carried her pet pig Ton-ton.

They fussed over me, asking what I had been doing all this time, and I gave descriptions of all of the Akatsuki members from Deidara, who I joked could be Ino's twin, to Tobi, who perpetually acted like he was five, and Hindan, a silver haired man who cursed like a sailor. But I told them the most about Itachi, my beautiful, kind Itachi. Itachi who had red, loving eyes, his raven black hair, his strong protective embrace, his soft gentle lips.

"Oooooo, you are head over heels, Sakura!" Ino squealed.

"Saku and Ita sitting in a tree K-I -S-S-I-N-G" Ten-ten sung teasing.

I blushed like mad. "Shut up you two!" I pushed Ten-ten, "Maybe I am in love."

I had been wondering how he would fare at war. Knowing him he would lead his own forces into battle rather than hiding behind his men in some tent. That fact, no matter how noble, only made me worry more. Would he be injured in the next battle? Would he die the tomorrow? My vision blurred with tears at the thought that he might not survive. No, I shook my head. I couldn't think like that. I would drive myself mad.

However with each day that passed I worried more and more of the war's events, wondering if Itachi was well, if they were winning, and if my brother had gathered the numbers he needed, then worrying even more thinking of how my brother could be. But Ino reminded me that no matter how much of a fool my brother was, he had always been a leader people would die for.

War was a cruel thing in which survival was no matter of skill, strength nor intelligence, but rather a test of how lucky you were. So every night I prayed to whatever Powers may be that Naruto and Itachi would, at the very least, have the luck to survive if not to win. Standing on my balcony, allowing my tears to fall, I looked out into the darkness,

" _Koganemushi nageutsu yami no hukasa kana"_

I recited,

" _Koganemushi_

 _I hurled it against the night_

 _How deep the darkness_ "

Another favorite of mine, this one a haiku by Takahama Kyoshi, and for the first time these past months I could truly mourn my mother. She was always a just woman. Sure, she was known to send people out of her office screaming and throwing things at them but especially toward the end, her council had been ignoring her commands and she wasn't a woman to put up with such things quietly. That's probably why Danzo decided to kill her in the end, she couldn't keep her mouth shut. That was one of the reasons I had decided never to speak in front of Danzo.

This also brought back everything I had felt when my father had died. Jiraiya hadn't been perfect. He was an infamous drinker, just like my mother and he had been known for infidelity. My mother's sin was gambling she could never turn down a bet nor could my father turn away from a pretty woman. Despite that they had always loved each other ever since they were children, as my grandfather had told me. They were always kind and good-humored. They didn't deserve what Danzo did to them. For that matter Konoha didn't deserve what Danzo did to her. My country was destroyed in shambles because of Danzo… I cried all night, all week, all month long.

…

Danzo's personal guard entered my room with the arrogant Lord himself following behind. "The war is won, my dearest princess." I hated that word. With Itachi it was an insult of the highest sort, but on Danzo's lips it was so sickeningly sweet that just hearing it made me want to puke. But I just smiled knowing that in the night Danzo would be killed, and I would never have to hear him say that word again. This allowed me to smile and curtsy like a proper lady and nod politely until he left.

I told the girls not to bother preparing my dress, that I would have no use for it and that they should go to bed early that night with the knowledge that their sleep would be interrupted. I sat at my vanity pretending to read my book of Western poetry, but really I was listening, waiting, knowing with every second that I would hear men running up the stairs, guards running around, screaming orders at each other, the clashing of swords against armor, the sounds of battle. I waited to hear these things, and waited and waited, but sunrise came and not a single sign of battle. No sign that I would be rescued. Dawn came and my heart sunk, no one came.

The girls came in giggling hours later, doing my hair and makeup, but when they brought the dress against my orders, I began to cry and refused to let them fix my mascara. Soon I threw a fit of temper worthy of my mother commanding them to burn the dress, immediately reminding them that I was in mourning and that I would wear a dress that suit my feelings, that they were to bring me the first black dress they could find and that was what I would wear.

…

I was a perfect symbol of mourning, my face covered in mascara from my tears, my dress black as was my veil. I refused to allow Ten-ten to give me my bouquet. The chapel was perfectly decorated with cherry blossoms and trims of gold, but I started crying again and could no longer see anything. I was no longer free, no longer my own person but rather Danzo's glorified slave. If he even decided that it was worth keeping me alive.

I walked down the aisle as I continued to cry, my sobs slowly getting louder with each step until I tripped on the small step up leading to the podium, just barely catching myself before I hit the ground. I sat down, and all I wanted to do was sit there and cry, but a guard took my arm all too harshly and forced me up. Danzo was plainly furious. I didn't care anymore, and if he killed me then so be it. He only wanted me for the crown anyway.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash up the aisle and there on horseback in a pool of light was Itachi adorned in gleaming armor. The entirety of his army awaited the order to take the palace. I felt one last tear drop from my eye and I smiled as I hadn't, couldn't until I saw him again. My Itachi, the man I loved.

…

Once again I heard the trumpets sound cueing me to walk down the chapel aisle. This time I wore a more proper dress, something light pink the same color as my hair. The pink lace combined with silver. It was nothing too special; there was no poufy bell skirt that some quiet princess would wear but a straight dress with a small belt at the middle. That same day I was crowned Queen of Uchiha, and Itachi named me his co-ruler, not only his wife the queen but a queen regent, his partner in all things. Lady Hinata caught my bouquet of roses and cherry blossom branches. Her wedding was to be in only two months. My life was filled with joy. There was much to fix in both Konoha and Uchiha but I knew the five of us would do everything we possibly can to reverse the suffering Danzo and Itachi's father had inflicted on the countries even if there will always be a scar on the land from their tyranny.


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue:

They did in fact do everything they possibly could to fix things and they were very successful. Starvation was almost extinguished, quality of life went up significantly and the economy flourished under the new system of free trade between the countries.

 _The Five of them had brought their countries into a golden age and the love story of the Brave Prince and the Brilliant Princess would live on in the memories of the people for centuries to come._

 _And They Lived Happily Ever After._

 _The End._


End file.
